Governor Christie said the toughest election night loss for him was Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s. Romney is shown here leaving a fundraiser in Woodbridge in June.

Governor Christie’s post-election score card has more loses than wins, but overall the Republican governor said there was a silver lining last Tuesday.

“The only bit of good news for the Republican Party on Tuesday night was provided by the governors,” he said Monday. “We didn’t lose any incumbents, any incumbent governors and we added Pat McCrory in North Carolina – first time in 24 years North Carolina has had a Republican governor. So we’re not at 30 out of 50, that’s the highest for either party in a very long time. So I’m really pleased that Pat won.”

Christie made trips to North Carolina in September and October on behalf of McCrory.

He noted that two other gubernatorial candidates he campaigned for, Rick Hill in Montana, and Rob McKenna in Washington State, lost in close contests.

“I was rooting for Rob in particular as a Republican in a blue state, he’s a former prosecutor, state attorney general,” Christie said. “I grew to be very close to Rob and I’m sad for him he wasn’t able to pull it out.”

But Christie can boast that he helped another friend get elected, former U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks, of Indianapolis, won a congressional seat in Indiana.

Christie campaigned for Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple, both of whom were re-elected as well as Congressman Mike Pence who won his bid at the Indiana governor’s office and North Dakota Congressman-elect Kevin Cramer.

Chrisite said perhaps the hardest loss to swallow was President Obama defeating Mitt Romney.

“I worked really hard for Mitt for a year and we became good friends and so that’s really what disappointed me,” Christie said.

Christie also said state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, who unsuccessfully challenges U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was a tough loss.

“I feel awfully for Joe and I think talk about a guy who got a whole series of really unlucky events that happened to him that drew attention away from his race,” Christie said, referring to superstorm Sandy. “And it’s a tough state in a presidential year. New Jersey is one of the few states where Barack Obama did better in ‘12 than he did in ‘08, it’s tough to run uphill against that kind of race.”

Christie said Obama won the state by 17 points, making it hard for a Republican just below him on the ballot to compete with that.

“I think Joe ran a really good race,” Christie said. “I think the good thing about Joe was Joe didn’t try to be anybody other than who he is and I think that’s good for his future, because when people try to morph themselves into something different in these races and people determine you’re being a phony, that hurts you in the long hall.”

Christie said he spoke to Kyrillos the morning after the election.

“I think he’s very satisfied with the kind of race he ran and I think he’s still got a really bright future in the state,” Christie said.

In all Christie said he raised more than $30 million as he visited more than 25 states on behalf of more than a dozen candidates.

“I always say, I don’t think endorsements mean as much as the people who are receiving the endorsement think they mean,” Christie said. “You know they’re really psyched when I come and I endorse them and say it makes a huge difference and I kind of wonder whether it really does.”

Christie said he does his best to help out.

“I think what it does is for the day it gets them a lot of attention from cameras and that’s good for them,” he said. “But in the long run is anybody walking into a voting booth in North Carolina and saying, ‘You know I wasn’t going to vote for McCrory, but now that Christie says I should vote for him I should.’ Yeah I don’t think so. I think it’s all just that I bring attention to them and that’s what they like.”

But Christie admits his presence does have some perks.

“I tend to attract a crowd and they’re willing to pay to hear me talk, so that helps them as well. But I don’t think in a direct way I affect the races,” he said. “The money I raise helps to affect the races. The attention I bring them may help to raise their profile a little bit. But I don’t think in the end that I make a difference in the race nor do I think any endorser makes a difference in the race.”

Christie said as vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association some of his endorsements were based on strategy, but others like Brooks and Drew Wrigley, won reelection as North Dakota’s lieutenant governor, and Pennsylvania Congressman Pat Meehan, are friends.

“I don’t pick these upon who I think is going to win or lose,” he said. “I pick them based upon the person and do I think they have some important things to say in the party, do I think their state is important to us – is there an important governor’s race there that I want to make sure that there’s strength in the ticket above and below it – so there’s some strategic decisions that are made but it’s not based upon can they win or can they lose, because you never know in these races, you just don’t know.”

An earlier version of this post incorrectly said Drew Wrigley lost his election for North Dakota lieutenant governor.

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The Bloggers

Melissa Hayes, who has worked at The Record since 2010, covers Gov. Chris Christie and politics for the State House Bureau. Follow her on Twitter at @Record_Melissa. View all of her posts

Herb Jackson is the Washington correspondent for The Record, covering North Jersey issues on the Potomac, including the activities of the congressional delegation and federal policies that affect the region. Follow him on Twitter @Record_DC.View all of his posts.

Salvador Rizzo covers politics for The Record’s State House bureau, with a focus on financial issues and the state budget, and legal issues in the New Jersey courts. Follow him on Twitter @rizzoTK.View all of his posts.

Charles Stile is the political columnist for The Record. He is a former State House Bureau chief at The Record and has covered politics and government in New Jersey for more than two decades. Follow him on Twitter @PoliticalStile. View all of his posts